Visa reports Q3 payments volume growth 11%Reports payments volume, on a constant dollar basis, for the three months ended March 31, 2015, on which fiscal third quarter service revenue is recognized, was 11% over the prior year at $1.2 trillion. Payments volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, for the three months ended June 30, 2015, was 11% over the prior year at $1.3 trillion. Cross-border volume growth, on a constant dollar basis, was 8% for the three months ended June 30, 2015. Total processed transactions, which represent transactions processed by VisaNet, for the three months ended June 30, 2015, were 18.0 billion, an 8% increase over the prior year. As a result of recent changes in Russian National Payment System law, the Company has transitioned the processing of Russian domestic transactions to the Russian National Payment Card System during the fiscal third quarter. This impacted processed transactions growth negatively by approximately 2 percentage points during the quarter.

Earnings Watch: Visa reports after 'top pick' mention by BernsteinVisa (V) is expected to report third quarter results after the close on July 23, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET. Visa is a global payments technology company. EXPECTATIONS: Analysts are looking for earnings per share of 59c on revenue of $3.36B. EPS consensus ranges 54c-65c on a revenue range of $3.32B-$3.41B, according to First Call. LAST QUARTER: On April 30, Visa reported second quarter EPS of 63c against expectations for 62c, and reported revenue of $3.41B versus estimates of $3.34B. During its quarterly conference call, the company noted that "we're now looking at Q3 fully diluted EPS being 6c-8c lower than analyst's current expectations," adding that results are likely to be pressured by higher client incentives. Visa executives also disclosed expectations for a "meaningful step-up" in Q3 expense growth, with a number of marketing and technology initiatives having shifted towards the latter half of the year. PEERS: American Express (AXP) reported quarterly earnings after the close on July 22, with earnings above consensus estimates but revenue somewhat below expectations, noting a "significant" impact from a stronger U.S. dollar on international operations. NEWS: On May 8, Bloomberg reported that Visa was in preliminary talks to acquire Visa Europe for $15B-$20B, according to sources. On June 3, Visa and FireEye (FEYE) announced a strategic partnership to co-develop tools and services to protect against cyber attacks targeting payment data. On June 5, the Wall Street Journal reported that, due to Visa and MasterCard (MA) having finalized their card-security technology, Google's (GOOG) Android Pay will not be earning any transaction fees from credit-card issuers, and on June 17, Reuters reported that a U.S. appeals court affirmed that American Express can no longer block businesses from steering customers towards competitor cards, such as those of Visa. STREET RESEARCH: On May 19, Pacific Crest's Josh Beck shifted his preference to MasterCard from Visa, though he noted that the shift was simply due to Visa's outperformance over the past year. On May 20, Bernstein noted that the risk/reward ratio for both Visa and MasterCard looks positive, with the companies offering secular growth, "compelling" business models, and modest risk. More recently on July 14, Bernstein named Visa among its "Vintage Values 2016" list, citing the company's U.S. acquirer price increase and expectations that the Visa Europe put option will be exercised this year. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Visa have fallen just under 1% to $71.41 ahead of Thursday's earnings report.

Bank of America announces CFO Bruce Thompson to step downBank of America announced that CFO Bruce Thompson has decided to step down after more than five years as Chief Risk Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Paul Donofrio, who has been with Bank of America since 1999 and has 25 years of global corporate and investment banking experience, will become CFO, effective August 1. Additionally, Global Human Resources executive Andrea Smith will assume a newly created position as Chief Administrative Officer. Replacing Smith as Global Human Resources executive is Sheri Bronstein.

Bank of America CFO Bruce Thompson to step down, WSJ reports Bank of America CFO Bruce Thompson is leaving the bank, according to an internal memo, and will be replaced with Paul Donofrio, the Wall Street Journal reports. Reference Link